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EPA plans to streamline air pollution permitting

10/29/2017

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Original article by Devin Henry:
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/357162-epa-plans-to-streamline-air-pollution-permitting

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday said it would reassess the way it issues Clean Air Act pollution permits for new facilities, as a way to reduce regulatory burdens for businesses.

As part of a review President Trump mandated earlier this year, the EPA said it would undertake four new initiatives to re-evaluate how it regulates pollution.

The most notable of those is the creation of a new task force to reconsider the permitting process for new sources of air pollution under the Clean Air Act, called the New Source Review (NSR).

“The potential costs, complexity and delays that may arise from the NSR permitting process can slow the construction of domestic energy exploration, production, or transmission facilities that must undergo review,” the EPA wrote in a 15-page report on its regulations.

“In some circumstances, the NSR process discourages the construction of new facilities or modifications of existing ones that could result in greater environmental improvements. Such reactions to the NSR process slows the growth of domestic energy resources and raise energy.”

The EPA issues three types of permits for newly built or modified facilities such as power plants, which set site-specific pollution requirements.

But commenters told the EPA the review process is lengthy, complex and costly, and suggested a handful of ways to improve the process.

Administrator Scott Pruitt will convene an “NSR Reform Task Force” to assess the issue, the agency said.
The new initiative comes after President Trump ordered agencies to consider ways to cut regulations and help the American energy sector. The Energy Department also released its regulatory review on Wednesday.

Besides the new source considerations, the EPA said it would work to speed up its approval process for state plans aimed at reducing pollutants governed by the agency’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards, like ozone.

It will also begin conducting an evaluation of the costs and employment impact of its regulations and designate a team of employees as points of contact to help industries navigate agency rulemaking. Both measures are likely to win praise within the business and energy communities.
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NC Triad Air Quality Improves Dramatically

4/25/2017

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Original article by Richard M. Barron from the Winston-Salem Journal:
http://bit.ly/2oiiYa5

GREENSBORO — These days, you can breathe easier in the Triad.

Air quality is improving partly because, like the rest of the nation, strict emission standards have put the squeeze on the worst pollutants, according to the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report.

Duke Energy was once a major air polluter. In the Triad, the company has installed expensive scrubbers at its Belews Creek Steam Station to remove dust particles from its smokestacks or converted other plants to natural gas.

The Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point area had the fewest days of high-level ozone pollution since the group started producing reports 18 years ago, the Lung Association said.

The Triad was also one of the cleanest cities for short-term particle days — spikes in pollution that can last for hours to several days and can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

​In North Carolina, the cleanest cities for ozone air pollution were Greenville-Washington, Hickory-Lenoir, New Bern-Morehead City and Wilmington.

Forsyth, Guilford and Rockingham counties were among the state’s cleanest for short-term particle pollution.

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Ghosts of permits past – What may be lurking in old permits and how it may hurt your facility

2/3/2017

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Original article by Julie Hall on the Cornerstone blog:
http://www.cornerstoneeg.com/2017/02/01/ghosts-permits-lurking-permits-hurt-facility/

If you are like most environmental personnel, you have all of your air permits in your site files in case an inspector ever asks about one. You probably think that everything is covered and you are in compliance since you have all those permits.
One site had great records of their site’s permits, but still had some ghosts lurking in those records that needed to be exorcised. This is a broad topic depending on the type of facility and the age of the permit, but here are a few common problems that may be in your permits.  Check out the full article for tips about how you can easily fix them.

- Outdated emission factors
- New applicable rules
- Process changes
- Permit exemptions






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